The latest data released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority has revealed that while fixed line connections are declining, Australians are using more data than ever.

The communications report, released by the ACMA today, shows that in the June quarter of 2012, Australians downloaded 421,172 terabytes of data, a massive 52 percent increase on the 277,897TB for the same quarter in 2011.

Around 92 percent of these downloads came from fixed-line services, despite the fact that the number of fixed line subscribers declined from 10.54 million in June 2011 to 10.44 million in 2012. But mobile handset internet saw the greatest rise in data use, going from 3,695TB in the June 2011 quarter to 6,610TB in the June 2012 quarter, a rise of 78.9 percent.

The total number of mobile services went up 3.1 percent in the 12 months between June 2011 and June 2012, from 29.28 million to 30.2 million, meaning there is more than one mobile service for every person in Australia. According to the report, 49 percent of Australian adults are now using a smartphone.

14.3 million Australians over 14 years went online during June 2012, according to the report, up from 13.5 million in June 2011, and around 10.8 million, or almost half of the Australian population, goes online daily.

"Mobile and internet services are driving growth in the digital economy. Australians are increasingly connected, adopting whichever devices best meet their needs," ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman said in a statement.

According to the ACMA, Telstra has a 46 percent share of the mobile market, as of June this year, with Optus making up 31 percent, and Vodafone sitting at 23 percent.

The number of .au domain names registered — excluding .gov.au addresses — rose by 15 percent in the last financial year, going from 2.12 million to 2.44 million.

While most stats are up across the board, the ACMA noted that the last financial year marked a year of internet service provider (ISP) market consolidation, with the total number of ISPs declining by two percent, to 473. The most high profile acquisitions were iiNet's purchases of Internode and TransACT, M2's takeover of Primus, and Optus' acquisition of Vividwireless.

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